Hacked Off
by RosieDay
Summary: Tom Hanson is sent undercover to seek out a computer hacker, only to find himself attracted to one of the prime suspects.
1. Chapter 1

It was ten minutes into the IT lesson when someone put up their hand to complain the computer had frozen up. Mr Rogers went over and tried to help, but soon more and more pupils begun having the same problem. Moments later every screen in the lab went blank, and skull and crossbones appeared along with the words: CAN YOU HACK IT?

This was not the first trouble to occur with the computer system at Woodsboro High. First someone had hacked into the student files and caused havoc by changing grades and medical details, and messing up timetables. Then there had been several incidents of school work being deleted, and now a virus had been uploaded into the network, wiping the hard drive and leaving the computers out of action.

As a team of technicians worked to repair and reboot the computers, down on Jump Street a team of young police officers looked over the case file.

"I want you on this Hanson," Captain Fuller said, handing the paperwork to Tom. "Go in, hang around the lab, interact with the kids and find out if one of them is behind this."

"Hanson: a computer geek?" Doug Penhall teased. "That could work!"

Tom ignored him and asked Fuller; "You think it's one of the kids?"

"The principal does," Fuller explained. "And he's had it up to here."

"I bet," Judy Hoffman said, shaking her head. "Deleting their classmate's work, tampering with permanent records? That's low. Who would do a thing like that?"

"That's what I'm gonna find out," Tom replied.


	2. Chapter 2

By Monday morning Tom Hanson, or rather Tom Haddon was enrolled at Woodsboro High and heading for his first IT class. With the system down, computer theory lessons were temporarily replacing the regular ones. When he got to the classroom he introduced himself to Mr Roger, the head of the department.

"I'm kind of worried about joining so late in the semester. I'm not that good with computers at the best of times," Tom explained, with a chuckle of embarrassment. "So could you pair me up with someone who can help me out?"

"Sure," Mr Rogers smiled. "I'm glad to see that you take your schoolwork so seriously."

Tom liked Rogers; he seemed like a good guy. He took Tom over to meet a student called Eddie, who he described as one of his best students. Eddie was seventeen, tall and lanky, with long brown hair and a cartoon-like grin.

"Hey man, how's it going?" Tom asked, taking a seat.

"I'm good," Eddie replied. "You just get into town, huh?"

"Yeah," Tom said.

"Maybe I'll introduce you to some people," Eddie offered.

"Cool," Tom thanked.

They were joined by another boy; he had black hair and deeply tanned skin, and was wearing a back-to-front baseball caps.

"Hey, any word on the computers yet?" He asked Eddie, as he sat down.

"No, not yet," Eddie replied. Then he turned to Tom and said; "Let me introduce you to Sandman. Sandman this is Tom, the new guy."

They exchanged hellos and then Tom asked; "How come they call you Sandman?"

"Because he's always nodding off in classes," Eddie explained, elbowing his friend in the ribs.

Sandman gave an excepting grin, and then he asked Eddie; "Is Alex in today?"

"No man; didn't show again."

"Alex doesn't like computers?" Tom asked.

"Like them? Loves them!" Eddie explained. "Or rather they love Alex; totally computer whiz."

"Alex could give these lessons," Sandman bragged.

"Then why the no-show?" Tom said.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders; "Boredom, I guess," he said. "Doesn't want to waste time in these half-baked classes, isn't interested in anything else at this school, thus, a no-show."

"But won't that mean a fail?" Tom asked.

"Alex; the high school dropout," Eddie said. "Sadly, it has a ring to it."

The class worked through textbook exercises for the whole lesson. Eddie and Sandman tried to explain it to Tom as he furrowed his brow at nearly every question, but they only ended up confusing him even more. By the end of the period his head was spinning.

"You really don't know much about computers," Sandman laughed, as the class started to pack away.

Tom let out a weary sigh, and admitted; "You're not kidding. But you guys; you're like pros!"

"It's our thing," Eddie said with a shrug. "Some guys go in for sports, some join the drama club, and we do this."

"Is there a computer club here," Tom asked. "Maybe I should sign up, learn some tips."

"There's no club," Eddie said, shaking his head.

"Even if there was, it wouldn't be much good at the moment," Sandman added.

"The virus, yeah, I heard about that," Tom said. "Pretty crazy, huh? How do you guys get your techno fix now their out of order? You got home computers?"

They nodded, but from the expression on both their faces, Tom sensed they thought it a strange question.

He did not press them for anymore information that day. Instead he concentrated on getting to know them both. It paid off, and a few days later, over lunch, he was invited to a house party.

"You can meet Alex," Eddie said as they sat together in the canteen.

"Great," Tom replied.


	3. Chapter 3

"Any suspects yet?" Fuller asked when Hanson reported back to headquarters.

"A few," Tom replied. "There are two guys in the class who seem pretty sharp on their technical skills. They're capable and they don't seem impressed with the current IT teacher; maybe it's their way of putting him through his paces."

"Pretty twisted way," Doug said with a snort.

"They also mentioned another guy; Alex. I haven't met him yet, but from what I've heard, not only is he the resident bad-boy, he's also some kind of a computer genius. Apparently so good he doesn't feel the need to show up for classes on a regular basic!"

"Not a big fan of Woodsboro High?" Doug asked.

"Maybe he gets a kick out of screwing up the system, it's not like he wants to use it himself. I'm meeting him tomorrow night."

"Good work," Fuller said. "Get close to this Alex and see what you can find out."


	4. Chapter 4

Tom arrived early for school the next day, he wanted to drop by the computer lab and check it out. It was a square, sparse room with windows on the north side that looked out onto the staff car park. Fifteen computers lined the walls, and in the centre there was a table which held another ten. There was a bookshelf filled with computer manuals and theory textbooks, a couple of printers; it looked like every computer lab Tom had ever seen.

"So much for looking for clues," he muttered.

He turned on one of the computers and it rumbled into life, but when the screen lit up it showed only a message from the hacker.

"Can you hack it?" Tom read aloud.

Who was the message to, and what did it mean? Can you hack it? Could _who_ hack _what_?

"What are you doing in here?"

Tom spun around to see a short, bald man in a technician's uniform, standing in the doorway. He came into the room, his face like thunder. He looked fierce for a man so small.

"The lab's out of bounds! You kids have messed up these things enough already!" He said; pushing passed Tom and switching the screen off. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing," Tom replied.

"Nothing," the man mirrored, putting on a whiny, high-pitched voice.

Tom clutched his fist, trying to control his temper. Why did this guy feel he had the right to be so rude and disrespectful to people, just because they were students?

"Maybe you and me oughta pay a visit to the principal's office?" The man threatened. "Look's to me like I found the person responsible for all this."

"I had nothing to do with it. I wasn't even a student here until this week," Tom replied. "I was just checking to see if they were up and running yet. I'm sorry, I'll leave."

Tom left the room and hurried to his first period. He met Eddie in the corridor.

"Hey Tom," Eddie greeted him. "What's up? You look like you're about ready to swing for someone."

"I just had a little run in with one of the technicians," Tom replied.

"Let me guess," Eddie said, with a knowing smile. "A short guy with no hair and really bad breath?"

"Sounds familiar," Tom nodded.

"That's Mr Marsh," Eddie explained. "Don't take it personally; he's always on someone's case. The teachers don't even like him."

"He didn't strike me as a very likable guy," Tom agreed.

"He knows his stuff though," Eddie admitted. "No one knows more about the system, but they'll never make him a teacher."

"Let me guess why," Tom said. "Poor people skills?"

Eddie laughed and said; "He's living proof that you can know everything there is to know, but that don't mean you can teach it to others."

Tom nodded in agreement, as they filed into the classroom and headed to their desks.


	5. Chapter 5

Tom - dressed in jeans and a denim jacket over a black t-shirt – sat nursing a chocolate milkshake. He had arranged to meet Eddie and Sandman at eight, and they were ten minutes late. The diner, a run down little joint called 'Fluke', was three customers and two staff members away from being empty. Tom considered going home; maybe he had been ditched, or they had decided not to go, but just as he was about to get up and leave, he saw them walk in the door.

"Hey," he beckoned them over.

They slid in opposite him and called over the waitress. They both ordered cokes and then Sandman asked Tom how he was.

"Looking forward to tonight," Tom replied. "I still don't know that many people in town."

"You will after tonight," Sandman said.

They all finished up their drinks, paid the bill and headed outside. Tom followed them down the street, asking; "How far is it?"

"Just at the end of this block," Eddie replied.

Tom heard the party before he saw it; heavy rock music was blaring through the streets. A disturbance of the peace, he thought, in every sense of the word. There were kids hanging out on the front porch, and Eddie and Sandman greeted a few of them as they passed. Tom smile politely and inclined his head towards those who made an introduction.

When they were inside Eddie wanted to get a drink, while Sandman insisted on hitting the dance floor. All Tom could think about was meeting the infamous Alex. He waited twenty or so minutes, before bringing up the subject. By this time, Sandman was devoting all his attention to some giggly blonde called Nancy, and Eddie had completely disappeared from view.

"When do I get to meet Alex," Tom called over the music.

"Huh?" Sandman said.

Tom repeated himself.

"Alex? Oh, I don't know."

Tom watched as Sandman whispered to Nancy.

"Alex?" She said. "Upstairs I think."

"You alright on your own?" Sandman said.

Tom knew it would not matter either way; Sandman was not about to leave Nancy's side. So he just gave a sarcastic smile, and replied; "Yeah, you two kids have fun."

Tom managed to push his way through the living room and into the hall. As he went, he kept asking people if they had seen Alex, and finally found himself standing outside one of the bedrooms.

"Alex in there?" He asked one group of kids, who we clustered together just inside the doorway.

"Alex?" One guy called into the room.

"Yeah," came a reply.

Tom did not know what he was expecting of Alex. Maybe he had some idea of a James Bond style villain, with a thick European accent, and a Persian cat sitting on his lap? Maybe he expected a weedy seventeen year old with glasses, greased back hair, and Star Trek posters on his walls?

Since he had been working at Jump Street, he had learnt not to prejudge situations, but as he looked down at Alex, sitting barefoot and backwards on a swivel chair, he realised he had prejudged this one. For starters he had assumed Alex was a guy.

"Hey," she said, with a smile. "You Tom? Eddie said you were coming."

She was sitting in front of a computer, in the process of shutting it down, and now she swung the chair around to face him. Her eyes were green, and her hair was jet black hair and cut in a close crop. It was a style that might have looked boyish and unflattering on another girl, but because she was so pretty, she carried off. It made her cute and funky looking, Tom thought to himself. Like a pixie with a punk twist.

"Hi," Tom said. "I've heard a lot about you."

"What?" She said, eying him suspiciously.

"That you're some kind of a computer genius," Tom replied, shifting nervously under her cat-like gaze.

She arched an eyebrow, and there was an uncomfortable silence as she looked him over, as if trying to figure him out.

"Want a soda?" She said finally, hopping up from her chair.

"Yeah, great," he replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Like the rest of the house, the kitchen was crowded, and Tom had to push his way through the mass of talking, laughing, shouting kids. He lost sight of Alex somewhere near the microwave oven, and stood looking about the sea of faces, hoping to catch sight of her again. He felt a hand wrap around his wrist and pull him gently through the confusion, and then he was standing opposite her, pushed so close up that he could smell the scent of her shampoo clearly. She did not seem uncomfortable at all, and causally handed him his drink before yelling to him over the noise.

"What?" He called back.

"You wanna go somewhere we can hear each other!" She screamed.

They both laughed and then she took his hand and led him to the backdoor and out onto the patio.

It was starting to turn cold as the heat of the day was lost to darkness, but a few people were still hanging out in the garden, huddled together in small group, or paired off and making out. Tom followed Alex to a vacant swinging seat, and the two sat down and opened their cans.

Tom was not sure where to begin; it would be impossible to bring up the subject of the computer virus without it rousing her suspicion. He decided to wait for her to instigate conversation, deciding that he would just have to learn what he could about her, without asking too many direct questions.

"Enjoying the party?" She said, taking a sip of her soda.

"Yeah," he replied, with a lop-sided grin. "It's fun."

She gave a contemptuous grunt.

"What were you doing up there," he said. "Who comes to a party to play on a computer?"

She looked at him, the eyebrow arched again; "I wasn't playing," she said.

"What were you doing?" He asked carefully.

"What do you care?" She countered.

"Just wondering," he said, with a shrug and a hurt look. "I was just asking a question. You know; making conversation. Jeez, you don't have to be so touchy about it!"

"You're cute when you're cross," she said, her mouth curling into a smile.

"Yeah?" Tom replied without even thinking. He tried to compose himself; flirting with your main suspect was not the appropriate course of action.

"I'm gonna go back inside," she said, standing up. "It's too cold."

"You can borrow my jacket," he offered.

"That's okay, lets go find Eddie," she replied.

He nodded and they went back inside, they pushed their way around for a few minutes, and finally found Eddie in the den and on a computer.

"If you spill anything on the keyboard, my dad'll kill me," a boy, obviously the host, was telling Eddie.

"Would you relax," Eddie dismissed him.

"Why do you have to be on that thing now?" The host demanded.

"I work better surrounded by chaos," Eddie replied, as somewhere off in another room there was the sound of breaking glass. "It gets my creative juices flowing."

The host was on his way to the door, no doubt to investigate. "I don't see why you can't use my computer," were his parting words, as he disappeared into the throng of the hallway.

"Cos Alex is on it!" Eddie called after him.

"No she isn't," Alex said, and Eddie glanced back at her and Tom, noticing their presence for the first time.

"Give up already," Eddie scoffed.

"Hardly," Alex replied.

"What you talking about?" Tom asked, feeling as if he had missed something.

"We had a little competition to see who could get inside the main database of Woodboro Bank," Alex explained.

"You did it already?" Eddie said in disbelief.

"Like twenty minutes ago," Alex said, cocking her head to the side.

"Unbelievable," Eddie slammed his fists on the table. "I had one more security wall to break through and I was there!"

His head snapped towards Alex, he was pouting like a sulking child. Then suddenly the pout dissolved away, replaced by his comically grin.

"You are the undefeated champion," Eddie laughed.

"Yes I am," Alex teased.

"So you guys actually hacked into a bank?" Tom said.

"Well I did," Alex replied, giving Eddie a playfully shove.

"Amazing," Tom said, shaking his head softly. "So you actually get inside the bank, into peoples accounts and stuff?"

"I would have," Eddie put on the spoiled boy act again. "If I had a few more hours."

"So you guys could – I don't know – say, transfer money from some rich guys account, into yours?"

Alex gave him a curious look, and said; "Theoretically; yes."

"Have you ever done it?" Tom said. "You guys could get into anywhere, right? You have the world at your fingertips. Accounts, government files, it's all up for grabs."

Eddie gave a snort; "Don't be an idiot," he said. "That's illegal."

"Come on, you've never been tempted?" Tom pressed.

"It's not like swiping a pack of smokes from the mall, or copying your Mother's Milk album for a friend," Alex said, as if explaining it to a toddler. "The government gets pretty pissed if you go hacking into their systems. They'd send you to the slammer and throw away the key."

They could be lying, Tom thought. Maybe they did get their kicks causing chaos in cyberspace, but he got the impression that they were telling the truth. These were smart kids, they were not about to mess up their lives with a jail sentence. But maybe they would cause chaos for a bit of excitement; maybe in some light, the virus could be seen as a practical joke that got out of hand. The principal was threatening to have the guilty party arrested, but maybe it was a buff and the kids knew it.

He thought back to the hacker's message: Can you hack it? Who was it to; the students at Woodsboro? Mr Rogers? Could Mr Rogers 'hack' being head of the department, was that the question? Tom already knew that Eddie, Sandman and Alex were not impressed with Mr Rogers' technical abilities, but why would they want to sabotage their own computer lab? That was the only subject any of them seemed remotely interested in, so it did not make sense for them to do it. Then who had done it? Who had motive and means? Who was the hacker targeting? Perhaps it was some disgruntle school librarian, who was trying to ruin the digital encyclopaedia in a bid to force the students back into the library.

"How you guys getting on?" Eddie whispered to Tom, nodding towards Alex.

She had thrown her self, gracefully, across an armchair on the other side of the room, and was flicking through a PC magazine.

"Okay," Tom said with a shrug. "She seems nice."

"I think she likes you," Eddie said, elbowing him playfully.

Tom could not stop a small chuckle escaping his lips; he would never get use to teen crushes and locker room gossip. It had been unappealing first time round and now it seemed beyond puerile.

"You think?" He said.

"Yeah man," Eddie said with a nod. "What do you think?"

"She's pretty cute," Tom admitted, glancing over. "But I'm not looking to hook up with anyone right now," he added, feeling guilty for being attracted to her.


	7. Chapter 7

When Tom arrived at IT class the following day, he was pleasantly surprised to see Alex sitting with Eddie and Sandman.

"Hi," Tom greeted them all, taking a seat next to Alex.

The lesson began; Tom become confused, Alex rolled her eyes at the easiness of it all, Eddie cracked jokes, and Sandman nodded off.

Tom was impressed by the depth of Alex's intellect; she finished her work in no time and then set about helping him do his. He listened intently, relieved to finally have someone make sense of it all.

After the lesson, he said goodbye to his friends and started to make his way to his next class. He passed through the corridor that led to the computer lab, and he could not help taking a look inside. Through the door's window he could see it was empty, the shades were pulled down and the lights were all out. Maybe he would take another look around, while the coast was clear.

"What you doing?"

Tom recognised Alex's voice right away. He turned to see her looking up at him, her pretty head cocked to the side, her cat-eyes watching him carefully.

"I'm sneaking into the computer lab," Tom replied. "You see, there's a girl waiting in there for me; Nancy – do you remember Nancy, from the party last night?"

Alex laughed, and then said; "Yeah, I heard she was hot for you. You guys got a little make-out session planed?"

"Yeah," Tom replied, trying his best to keep a straight face.

"Seriously, what you up to?" Alex whispered, hurrying over to join him.

"I just wanted to take a look," Tom replied, opening the door and slipping inside.

He looked at her through the window, as her eyebrow shot up in the endearing way it did. He pushed the door open again and taking her hand, he asked; "You coming?" He pulled her inside, and the two ducked down so they could not be seen from outside.

"This is so dumb," she said.

"I just want to take a look," Tom replied, with a shrug. "It burns me that I'm learning all these new computer skills and I haven't actually got to use any of them yet."

Tom moved to the back of the room and switched on one of the computers. The familiar message came on.

"Can you hack it?" Alex read. "Cute."

"How long do you think until they're up and running again?" Tom asked.

Alex shrugged; "Depends."

Tom heard the click of the doorknob and pulled Alex down under the central table, with him. They crouched in the gloom, listening as someone came inside.

"Who's there, I know someone is!"

"Not this guy again," Tom muttered, recognising Mr Marsh's voice.

"I'll go out, you keep your head down until we've gone," Alex whispered to him.

"No," Tom replied, in a hushed snap.

"Look," Alex replied. "It's your first week, this isn't gonna look good. What do I have to loose? Nothing."

"Is that what you really think?" Tom could not believe his ears. "Alex you have everything going for you."

"Come out!" Mr Marsh snapped as he switched on the light.

"Stay down," Alex instructed, and kissed Tom on the mouth.

He was so taken back, he did not stop her as she stood and went out to confront Mr Marsh. He listened as Mr Marsh ordered her outside, muttering about damned kids all the way. The light went back out and the door closed, leaving Tom listening to the low hum of the computer.


	8. Chapter 8

Tom could not even _pretend_ to concentrate. He drifted through the rest of the day, wondering about Alex and how much trouble she would be in. She was certainly capable of unleashing a virus on the computer system; it would look very suspicious for her to be hiding in the computer lab. He felt sick to think of her being expelling when he was so sure that she was innocent. Then there was the kiss. He would be in an enormous amount of trouble himself, if anyone found out.

As the bell to his last class rang, Tom climbed wearily from his desk and walked mindlessly out into the buzzing corridor. Then he saw Alex, stood at her locker, loading her bag up with books. He felt a wave of relief; she had not been expelled after all. She caught sight of him and smiled warmly.

"Hey," he said. "You're still standing then."

"Yeah," Alex said. "I had to go to the principal and explain why I was in an out-of-bounds area, though." She laughed.

"You wanna go to Fluke for a bite to eat," Tom asked her, leaning against the lockers.

"I can't, I got a detection to get to. I interred with the computer lab," Alex said, with a contemptuous giggle. "That is a detection-able offence."

"Alex, no way! It was all my idea!" Tom protested. "I'll go explain it was my fault."

"No it's fine," Alex replied.

"No it's not," Tom argued. "I'm not gonna let you take the fall for me."

His stomach did a somersault as she took hold of his arm, and then she told him; "Look, if you tell them you did it then they'll keep you here, and they'll still keep me here for lying about it, and then no-one will go to Fluke, and Fluke will go out of business, and do you really want that on your conscious?"

Tom could not help laughing.

"But you owe me a burger, okay?" She added, squeezing his arm.

"Absolutely," he replied, softly.

He watched her walked off down the corridor.

"Hey!" He called after her.

She glanced back.

"How long you in for?" He asked.

"Til six o'clock," Alex replied.

"That's uncanny! That is exactly the time I was thinking about walking by the front entrance," Tom said. "If I happen to see you, maybe I can walk you home."

Alex's lips curled into a smile, and she nodded her head.


	9. Chapter 9

At six o'clock Tom was sitting on the stone steps outside the school entrance, waiting for Alex. He heard the doors open behind him and a moment later she was sitting next to him.

"You want to come over and hang out tonight?" She asked.

He looked at her, knowing he shouldn't, and said; "I don't know."

"Come on," she said. "We'll rent a video, pop some corn. I'll even let you pick the movie. Not the popcorn though, I must remain firm on the popcorn. I like salty, not sweet."

Tom laughed, and before he could stop himself he had said; "Okay, sounds great."

They walked together, first to the video store, then to the apartment block where Alex lived with her older sister.

"This is home," she said, as she turned the key in the lock.

The door opened into a kitchenette, with wooden cupboards hanging from it walls. A small breakfast bar with two stools tucked underneath; separated if from the living room, which was decorated in soft blues and pale greens. There was a couch and armchair pointed towards a portable television, and a window with a pot plant sitting on its sill. Three more doors, one on the north wall and two on the west, Tom guessed, led into bedrooms and a bathroom.

"It's nice," Tom said. He turned to watch her pull a bag of popcorn from one of the cupboards. "I'll make it," he said. "I'm an expert."

Alex laughed, then told him; "I'll ready our viewing area."

Tom watched her prance through to the living room, where she moved a cushion from one side of the sofa, to the other.

"It's ready!" She called out.

He laughed, turning on the hob and putting the popcorn onto heat. Ten minutes later, the smoke detector sounded, confirming that it was well and totally ruined. As Tom apologised repeated, Alex shuffled through the rest of the cupboards, searching for a snap replacement. They settled on a bag of potato chips and a half empty pot of salsa dip that she found in the fridge.

After the movie was over and the chips were all gone, they sat cross-legged on the floor, their backs to the sofa, talking about nothing in particular. Tom kept telling himself he would make an excuse and leave, just as soon as he could.

"Where's your sister tonight?" He asked.

"She works late most nights," Alex replied. "Gotta pay the rent."

"What about your parents?" Tom asked.

"They passed away. When I was little," she explained.

Tom was quiet for a moment, then he said; "My dad died too."

He regretted it the moment it left his lips. What was he thinking, disclosing personal information like that? He could end up blowing his whole cover!

"How?" Alex asked.

He knew he should make something up, but he just could not bring himself to lie to her. There had been enough of that already.

"He was a cop and he was killed on duty," he told her.

"Sorry," she said.

"Me too," he replied. "I can't imagine losing my mum too. You're so brave."

She let out a bitter laugh.

"What?" He said.

"Nobody's ever called me brave before," she said.

"Well you are," Tom replied. "You're wonderful."

He could not stop himself now, the words just spilled from his lips.

"You have so much going for you; you're beautiful and smart, and funny."

He saw her blush, and it was as if someone had shaken him from a dream. He was filled with a sudden urgently to get out of there. Glancing across at the clock on the VCR, he saw it was nearly three in the morning.

"Jeez, I better get going," he said, scrambling to his feet. "This was really fun though."

He pulled on his jacket.

"I guess I'll see you in school." Alex said.

"Yeah," Tom replied, giving a lop-sided grin.


	10. Chapter 10

When Tom got to school on Monday morning, there was a near-riot going on in the corridor. A crowd of kids and staff members had gathered around, and as he got closer, Tom saw Alex, Eddie and the Principal were at the centre of it.

"This is bull, man!" Eddie shouted at the principal.

"If you don't moderate your behaviour and your language, you will find yourself in hot water too!" The principal said crossly. "This is a very serious matter Ms Tyler."

"I didn't do it!" Alex shouted back.

"What's going on?" Tom demanded.

"Tom," Alex looked at him, a mixture of fear and hope in her eyes.

"They're trying to pin this virus thing on Alex," Eddie said. All trance of good humour had left him, and his voice was filled with anger and disgust.

Tom heard a cry from behind the principal, and for the first time he noticed Mr Marsh, face flushed in fury, jabbing a finger in the air. "She did it!" He was shouting.

"I caught her red-handed," he continued.

"No," Alex replied, her voice cracking, revealing traces of raw emotion.

Mr Marsh came to wave his finger in her face, shouting; "You've done it this time, Tyler. I always knew you were a good-for-nothing!"

"That's enough!" Tom bellowed, stepping in between them.

"Mr Marsh," the principal said, clearly trying to calm the man. "Let's take a step back and talk about this rationally."

"What's to talk about?" Mr Marsh shouted.

Tom did not move from his protective position in front of Alex, and he felt he hands creep up to clutch his waist. He could hear she had started to cry.

"You are such a loser!" Eddie shouted at Mr Marsh. "You come out here, shouting accusations, upsetting everyone, claiming you got proof. Well what damn proof!"

"I found her in the lab on Friday afternoon," Mr Marsh said with a sneer. "Took her to the principal."

"Yes," the principal confirmed.

"When I went to look at the computers this morning there was a virus in the system."

"I don't know if you noticed," Eddie said. "But it's been like that for a while now!"

"No it hasn't," Mr Marsh continued. "Because I fixed them on Friday. They were fine before she went in there."

He was lying. It hit Tom like a thunder bolt.

"You're lying," he spoke it for everyone to hear.

"Excuse me?" Mr Marsh sneered.

"I was there that afternoon," Tom said. "I saw what state those computers were in, you saw it too."

"Idiot boy," Mr Marsh replied dismissively.

"Why are you lying? Why are you trying to blame Alex? What do you have to hide Mr Marsh?"

"This is outrageous," Mr Marsh shouted, but Tom recognised a guilty look when he saw one.

"Do you really think people will take your word over mine?" Mr Marsh said.

"I love this part," Tom shot back with a smirk, as he reached for his badge.


	11. Chapter 11

"So the technician did it," Doug Penhall said, stretching his legs out on Captain Fuller's desk.

"Yeah," replied Tom, watching as Fuller knocked Doug's feet back onto the floor.

"Apparently he was less than thrilled when Mr Rogers was made head of the department, and he was overlooked."

"Can you blame them?" Fuller replied, dryly.

"He'd have made a lousy teacher," Tom agreed. "Poor people skills."

"Well at least you can stop being a computer geek now," Doug said. "And go back to being just the regular kind."


	12. Chapter 12

Tom knew he would be in trouble if Fuller found out, but the following week he returned to Woodsboro and made his way to the newly restored computer lab. He looked hopefully around the room, searching for Alex. When he saw Eddie and Sandman, he gave them a shy wave. Both boys blanked him, returning their attention back to the screens.

"Hey," Tom said. "How's it going?"

They ignored him.

"Come on guys," Tom pleaded. "I was just doing my job."

"And now you've done it," Eddie said. "So you can get the hell out of here."

It was useless arguing with them, Tom realised. If they did not want to talk to him, he could not make them. But he had one final question.

"Where's Alex?"

"No-show," Sandman replied.

Tom's heart sank. Had he made any difference in these kids' lives? Had it all been a waste?

Just as he reached the door, he heard Eddie call after him.

"Yeah?" He said, turning back.

Eddie and Sandman looked at him for a moment, then Sandman said; "You really don't know much about computers."

Tom let out a weary sigh, and admitted; "You're not kidding. But you guys; you're like pros!"

"It's our thing," Eddie replied, the slightest hint of his cartoon-smile, showing on his lips.


	13. Chapter 13

Outside the school entrance, Tom sat on the stone steps and looked about the grounds. He had caught the bad guy, so why did he feel like he had lost? He heard the doors open behind him and a moment later someone had come to sit next to him.

"Hey," Alex said.

"Hey," Tom replied, a smile creeping across his lips. "I was looking for you."

"I've moved classes," Alex explained. "Starting this Wednesday, I'm going to the college three times a week to do an advanced computer course."

"That's great," Tom beamed.

"I'm also tutoring some kids," she added. Then she asked; "How come you're here?"

"To say goodbye. I went to see the guys," Tom said, jabbing his thumb back at the school. "They were pretty mad. I guess people don't like to think they've been lied to."

He paused for a moment, wondering if he really wanted the answer to the question that was forming in his mind.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked.

She shook her head and smiled.

"So you didn't tell me your real last name," she said, with a shrug. "You can't fake the good person that you are. When we were hanging out, when we were talking; that was real."

"It was," Tom said firmly, looking her straight in the eye.

"You're still the guy who walked me home and burnt the popcorn," they both laughed and then she said; "I knew who you really were."

He stared at her, surprised. Was that a figure of speech, or was there more implied in the way she was looking at her? Then he remembered his own words to her: 'You have the world at your fingertips'. He had been beyond stupid; Alex could get inside any computer system.

"How long have you known?" He asked.

"Mmmm…" her eyes looked towards the sky, her tongue curling up and out of the corner of her mouth, as she pondered the question. "The day after we first meet," she admitted.

"That long?" Tom said in disbelief. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against the lids.

"Yeah," she replied.

He shook his head and let out a chuckle.

"You know," he said opening his eyes. "Hacking into police personal files is illegal. Someone who did that would get into a lot of trouble."

Alex looked at him with a perplexed expression.

"Who would do a thing like that?" She said innocently.

"Certainly not you," he replied, with a sarcastic smile. "You're just an excellent judge of character."

"Call it woman's intuition," she said with a smirk.

"I guess this is the part where you leave, huh?" She put on a booming, theatrical voice and added; "More teens to save, more mysteries to solve."

Tom laughed.

"Well Officer Hanson," she said thoughtfully. "It was nice knowing you."

She reached out to shake his hand and Tom felt like hugging her, kissing her on the cheek even, but decided it would be inappropriate. It was best to leave it like this and not dwell on things too deeply, he thought.

"Bye Alex," he said, flashing his lop-sided grin at her, and realising it was probably for the last time. "Take care."

"You too." And with that she turned and went back into the school.

THE END


End file.
